Lions relieve Jim Schwartz of coaching duties

Jim Schwartz couldn't survive the Lions second-half collapse this season and his 29-51 career mark

The Jim Schwartz era in Detroit is over.

Jim Schwartz (Photo: Gavin Smith)

The Detroit Lions fired their head coach today, one day after a season-ending, 14-13, loss to the Minnesota Vikings capped off one of the worst late-season collapses in franchise history.

In the end, Schwartz couldn’t survive starting 6-3 this season and losing six of their last seven games down the stretch to let what would have been their first NFC North title in 20 years slip right through their hands.

Over the last two seasons, the Lions have gone 2-14 in the second half of the season.

Schwartz, 47, ends his tenure in Detroit with a 29-51 record in the regular season and a 0-1 mark in the postseason.

Schwartz took over a 0-16 squad in 2009 and turned it into a playoff team in just three years. But since that playoff loss in New Orleans in 2011, Schwartz is just 11-21. The organization is obviously headed in the wrong direction and the Ford Family decided it was time for a change.

In his post-game press conference after Sunday’s loss, Schwartz said he wanted an opportunity to finish what he started.

“I’d certainly like to be back,” he said. “I think we have unfinished business here. We’ve come a long way in these years, but we still have some ground that we can make and I’m anxious to have a chance to be able to do that.”

The fate of Schwartz’s coaching staff is unknown at this time, but the Lions are expected to try and keep at least a few position coaches. Tops on that list should be offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn, who did a terrific job with the offensive line in his first year in that position.